What Does the Changing Picture in Public Health Mean to Public Health Education in Personnel Recruitment and Training?

Abstract Background: Public health training has been expanding in India in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought additional attention to the importance of public health programs and the need for a strong workforce. This paper aims to assess the current capacity for public health education and training in India and provide recommendations for improved approaches to meet current and future public health needs. Methods: We conducted a desk review of public health training programs via extensive internet searches, literature reviews and expert faculty consultations. Among those programs, we purposively selected faculty members to participate in in-depth interviews. We developed summary statistics based on the desk review. For qualitative analysis, we utilized a combination of deductive and inductive coding to identify key themes and systematically reviewed strengths and weaknesses for each theme. Results: The desk review captured 59 institutions offering public health training across India. The majority of training programs were graduate level degrees including master of public health (MPH) and master of science (MS) degrees. Key themes included collaborations, mentorship, curriculum standardization, tuition and funding, and student demand for public health education and careers. Collaborations and mentorship were highly valued but varied in quality across institutions. Curricula lacked standardization but also contained substantial flexibility and innovation as a result. Public sector programs were affordable and student stipend varied across institutions. Further development of the demand-side with greater opportunities for career for careers in public health is needed. Conclusion: Public health education and training in India has a strong foothold. There are numerous opportunities for continued expansion and strengthening of this field, to support a robust multi-disciplinary public health workforce that will contribute towards achieving the sustainable development goals.

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Improving access to and provision of public health education and training in the UK

Public Health ◽

10.1016/j.puhe.2008.03.008 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 122 (10) ◽

pp. 1047-1050 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Paul Pilkington

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Education ◽

Public Health Education ◽

Education And Training ◽

The Uk ◽

And Training

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Authorization and illegitimation among biomedical doctors and indigenous healers in Tanzania

Applied Linguistics Review ◽

10.1515/applirev-2016-0017 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. 385-407

Author(s):

Christina Higgins

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Education ◽

Public Health Education ◽

Symbolic Power ◽

Discursive Practices ◽

Governmental Organization ◽

Official Discourse ◽

Northern Tanzania ◽

The Media ◽

And Training

AbstractThis paper analyzes interactions that took place during a set of workshops involving biomedical doctors and indigenous healers in northern Tanzania which promoted the use of indigenous knowledge in public health education and training. Such workshops are needed since, despite their success in treating patients for a number of health problems, healers are still misrepresented in the media and in wider society and are often confused with witchdoctors. In the context of inequality, then, the purpose of the workshops was to encourage the participants to learn from one another and to find ways to collaborate so that they could better treat patients in their area. The analysis assesses the efforts of the non-governmental organization that organized the workshops to create a culture of inclusion and equality among the doctors. The analysis shows how both parties are first legitimated through narratives of equality in the official discourse of the workshops. Subsequently, however, the healers are delegitimized in their interactions with the biomedical doctors through unequal forms of address and through the conflation of indigenous healing with witchcraft. The analysis shows how inequality in discursive practices is a key site for enduring struggles over symbolic power, even in contexts where equality is explicitly on the agenda.

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